Forgot your password?  

The Things They Carried Summary
Tim O'Brien

Everything you need to understand or teach The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien.

  • The Things They Carried Summary & Study Guide
  • 27 Student Essay
  • 2 Encyclopedia Article
  • 22 Literature Criticism
  • 1 Book Note
  • ...and more
  • 30 The Things They Carried Lessons
  • 20 Activities
  • 180 Multiple Choice Questions
  • 60 Short Essay Questions
  • 20 Essay Questions
  • Pre-Made Tests and Quizzes
  • ...and more

The Things They Carried Summary

"The Things They Carried" recounts the experiences of Lieutenant Jimmy Cross's infantry unit leading up to and following the death of one of the men, Ted Lavender, on April 16. A third-person narrator describes the individual soldiers by the items that they carry with them.

Lt. Jimmy Cross, the main character and platoon leader, carries the letters he receives from Martha, a sophomore English major at St. Sebastian's College in New Jersey. He uses the letters, photographs, and the small stone she has sent him as a way of connecting to the world outside of Vietnam. Though he is distracted and dreamy, he also carries "the responsibility for the lives of his men."

The other men in the platoon carry personal effects and good luck charms. The also share the burdens of combat, distributing the necessary equipment and weapons among them. Henry Dobbins, for example, the biggest man... View more of the The Things They Carried Summary

Study Pack

The The Things They Carried Study Pack contains about 632 pages of study material in 53 products, including:

The Things They Carried Study Guide

Lesson Plan

All teaching products sold separately.

The Things They Carried Lesson Plans contain 140 pages of teaching material, including:

Need Homework Help?
Characters Left: 200
-- Tim O'Brien is the author of The Things They Carried. read more
-- He wrote it as a type of therapy for himself as a way to deal with everything he'd experienced in th... read more
-- I think you misunderstand the assignment about building your essay around quotes from the story.... read more
-- the asnwer is that they have it own their nid that it hurts them thats all read more
-- Ted Lavender died when he went off to take a ****. He was shot in the head. read more
Follow Us on Facebook